


Things In Common

by autobotscoutriella



Series: Things In Common [1]
Category: Transformers (Bay Movies), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Conversations, Community: tf_rare_pairing, F/F, First Meetings, in which DOTM ended happily and then nothing canon past that happened I guess?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:22:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23328466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autobotscoutriella/pseuds/autobotscoutriella
Summary: Becoming friends with her ex-boyfriend's ex-girlfriend was not exactly at the top of Carly Spencer's to-do list.
Relationships: Mikaela Banes/Carly Spencer
Series: Things In Common [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1995904
Comments: 13
Kudos: 43





	Things In Common

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [TF_rare_pairing](https://tf-rare-pairing.dreamwidth.org/1580193.html) prompt "hanging out".

The first time Carly Spencer met Mikaela Banes, the only thing she saw was shoes and the lower half of a set of blue coveralls, because Mikaela was flat on her back underneath a silver Corvette Stingray, buried elbow-deep in its internals and muttering something unintelligible that sounded profane.

“Er…excuse me, I’m supposed to meet Bumblebee here. Could you point me to—”

A yelp, _thud_ , and muffled curse interrupted Carly before she could finish, and a moment later, a young woman with a grease smudge on her cheek and dark hair pulled back into a braid slid out from under the Corvette. “ _Shit_ , sorry, you scared me. Didn’t even hear you come in.”

“Sorry—sorry, I really didn’t mean to.” Carly found herself trying to brush a stray strand of hair out of her face, feeling as if she’d been caught completely wrong-footed for reasons she didn’t entirely understand. “I think I took a wrong turn somewhere back that way—” she gestured vaguely toward the hallway. “I was looking for the primary hangar bay?”

The silver vehicle transformed in a rush of shifting metal and clicking gears, and Carly jumped back in surprise. The Cybertronian’s laugh sounded more like the rumble of a faulty hard drive. “How in the Pits do you get lost looking for the primary hangar bay? It’s _literally_ the biggest door in the base.”

The mechanic banged a flat palm lightly on the Cybertronian’s kneecap, or where its kneecap would have been if it had had one. “Shut up, Sideswipe, you’re not much of a navigator either. I’m guessing you took a left at the junction instead of a right? It’s a pretty easy mistake to make. I think it’s wrong on some map somewhere, ‘cause people do it all the time.”

“Yep.” She offered a sheepish smile. “The soldier who met me wouldn’t provide any directions. I guess this is the sort of place where if you’re supposed to be here, you’re also supposed to know where you’re going.”

“That’s the general rule. There’s usually an escort, but we’re pretty short-handed right now. Reasons.” The mechanic wiped her hands clean on her coveralls and held one out for a handshake. “Welcome, sorry about that, I’ll walk you to the primary hangar bay. It’s not that far. You said you’re looking for Bumblebee?”

“He knows I’m coming.” Carly accepted the offered hand with a smile, her best practiced diplomatic-meeting face. “I’m Carly Spencer.”

“Ahh.” A knowing look crossed the other young woman’s face. “Sam’s—”

“Ex,” Carly interrupted, too quickly. For some reason, it felt very important to convey that. “I’m his ex.”

“Oh.” The mechanic paused and looked her over again, as if sizing her up this time. “ _Oh._ Sorry, yeah, I know who you are, I just—haven’t ever seen you up close, I guess.” She hesitated, then continued, “I’m Mikaela Banes.”

She didn’t have to elaborate. Carly recognized the name of Sam’s _other_ ex instantly. 

“…Oh. _Oh._ I’m so sorry, I should have recognized—”

Sideswipe’s laughter echoed around the hangar, metallic and sharp, like someone dropping ball bearings on concrete. “So are the apologies traditional when two ex-partners meet, or is this specific to Sam Witwicky?”

“You know what? Shut up.” Mikaela pointed a finger at him, accompanying it with a genuinely sharp glare. “You’re back in one piece, so you can polish your _own_ plating. And you’re welcome. Come on, Carly, I’ll take you to the main hangar.”

There was a long moment of awkward silence as the two of them returned to the hallway and started back toward the entrance. Carly finally cleared her throat.

“So, er—”

“Are you—”

They both broke off speaking at the same time, exchanging startled glances before breaking down laughing. Mikaela wiped at her cheek, removing most of the grease smudge. “Okay, you first.”

“I was just going to ask how long you’ve been working with the Autobots.” Sam hadn’t stayed with them very long, to Carly’s knowledge, and it was something of a surprise that Mikaela apparently had.  
  
…Of course, there had been a lot of things she hadn’t known about, and all things considered, Mikaela had probably gotten the better end of the deal.

“Um, a few years. I worked with Ratchet off and on learning how to repair them, and then after I turned twenty-one they asked if I wanted to make it official.” Mikaela shrugged, sounding too casual for someone talking about being invited to work directly with classified alien robots. “What about you? Just here to say hi?”

“No, actually. They told me they don’t allow that. I’ve, ah…I’ve been informed that it’s not safe for me to be entirely without an Autobot guardian.” She had assumed when she broke up with Sam that that would be the end of it. She had assumed wrongly. “So I’m here to…well, to discuss my options.”

“I remember having that conversation. Good luck.” Mikaela offered a brief sympathetic smile and shoved a heavy fire door open, holding it for Carly. “They’ll probably ask if you want an actual guardian or if you want to move closer to base so you’re in range of patrols and stuff. I had Arcee with me when I lived in Nevada, but I don’t have to have a twenty-four-seven guard here.”

Carly paused, realizing that what looked like a massive garage door ahead was probably the entrance to the correct hangar. She had tried not to think about it on the drive over, but she _was_ nervous about the likely outcome of this conversation. “Which one would you recommend? Based on your experience.”

“I guess that depends on your priorities.” Mikaela stopped with one hand resting on a wall switch. It probably opened the hangar door. “If you don’t want anything to do with the whole alien war thing anymore—and I don’t think anyone would blame you—having an Autobot guardian is pretty low-key. They won’t even talk to you if you don’t want them to. But if you like spending time around Autobots, living near base is pretty great, actually. You’re kind of expected to hang out, so it’s not lonely or anything.”

“Hang out?” Carly repeated, puzzled. She _had_ tried to picture what life on a classified alien/military base might be like. That phrase didn’t match her mental image. “As in, socially?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, it’s not like there’s a lot of people we can really talk to about work or what we do for a living or where we live or anything like that, right? So it just kind of…happens. It’s…nice.” Mikaela paused, shifted in place, and finally flipped the switch. The hangar door started scrolling upward with a piercing squeak of old gears. “Anyway, yeah. This is the main hangar. Bumblebee’s already in there, I can hear him from here.”

“Thanks.” Carly started toward the hangar, and found herself stopping again halfway there. “Really, thank you. For the advice as well as the directions. It’s…it’s good to know that I’m not the only one who’s had to figure this out.”

“Sure, anytime.” Mikaela looked at the floor, then at the hangar, avoiding direct eye contact for a moment. “Hey, no matter what you decide, why don’t you come back by while you’re in town? I could show you around the base, since you’re cleared to be here already. We could…”

“Hang out?” Carly finished. Mikaela looked up again and offered a wry smile.

“Yeah. I mean, we already know we’ve got at least a couple things in common, right? And it’s been a while since there was another human civilian around. If you’re gonna be around for a few days…”

“I am. I don’t expect the whole decision to be made today.” The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. Mikaela was right, they did have things in common. Who else was going to understand exactly what she was dealing with? It might be awkward, but there was something comforting about knowing she wasn’t the only one who had had to process a breakup, an alien guardian, and an alien _war_ all at the same time _…_ “Would there be a good time to drop by tomorrow?”

“Um…” Mikaela fished a battered phone out of her coveralls pocket and scrolled through what Carly assumed was a calendar before answering. “Three p.m.? I’ll let security know I invited you and you can come in by the same door you used today.” She flashed a quick grin. “And I’ll meet you there so you don’t have to find your way around this maze again. Sound good?”

“It does.” Carly smiled, and was about to add that she really did appreciate the offer when someone called her name from halfway across the hangar.

“Sounds like you’d better get to your meeting, and I’ve gotta get back to the medical wing.” Mikaela was already turning away. “See you tomorrow?”

As she left, Carly raised one hand in a little wave, just a little bit disappointed for reasons she didn’t quite understand.

“See you tomorrow.”

**Author's Note:**

> Anybody else ever notice that this pairing is basically just Transformers: The Korrasami AU?


End file.
